METHADONE prescribing has reached a new high - with the total cost of providing the heroin substitute totalling more than £28million last year.

Figures for 2010-11 show there were a record number of 533,733 prescriptions issued for methadone oral solution.

That is up from 508,950 in 2009-10 and compares to the 488,504 prescriptions issued in 2006-07.

Over the course of last year there were more than 637 million milligrams of the drug dispensed in Scotland.

Official statistics also show that in 2010-11, an estimated 17,440 men and 8990 women saw their GP because of drug-related problems.

The same year there were 10,813 assessments made for people to have specialist treatment for their drug addiction.

There have now been more than 45,000 cases where people have begun treatment since 2007-08.

Just over two thirds of those assessed for treatment last year were unemployed, with 70 per cent saying they used benefits to fund their drug habit.

Heroin was the drug most commonly used by new patients, with 4988 using this, compared to 2413 who used cannabis, 647 who took cocaine and 245 who took crack cocaine.

Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said the Scottish Government was investing £28.6 million on "front-line drug treatment and recovery services" in 2012-13.

She added that this would help provide "faster access to recovery-focused services that place the individual at the centre of care and treatment".

However Ms Cunningham said Scotland now had a "cohort of hard-to-reach individuals who have been using drugs for more than a decade".

She added: "They are getting older and their risk of drug-related death is greater.

"But they are not lost to us. We have reformed Scotland's approach to tackling drug misuse - we now focus on the individual, not solely their addiction.

"We have invested record amounts in front-line drug treatment services to help people recover - an investment which represents an increase of over 20 per cent since 2006-07.

"As these figures published today show, more than 10,000 assessments for specialist drug treatment were made in 2010-11 and over 26,000 individuals sought support from their GP. We are ensuring help is there for people who want to access it.

"As minister with responsibility for drugs, I have visited organisations across Scotland and met many inspiring individuals who provide proof that recovery is possible, contagious and visible."

Today's figures also showed there were 485 drug-related deaths registered in Scotland in 2010, 11 per cent fewer than in 2009 - which had the third highest number ever.

Heroin and/or morphine was involved in or potentially contributed to 254 of these - more than half of drug-related deaths.

And methadone was implicated in, or potentially contributed to 174 deaths in 2010.

Ms Cunningham said the figures from the drugs related deaths database echoed previous findings "that the most at-risk group are older men, from backgrounds of deprivation and with a history of drug misuse that may have weakened their health".

She said the database, which was "unique in terms of international data" provided ministers with "valuable information to shape and deliver services and critical interventions that turn a potential death into a potential for long-term recovery".

She stated: "It is this Government's firm belief that recovery from serious drug addiction is possible. The Road to Recovery - the Scottish Government's national drugs strategy unanimously endorsed and reaffirmed by the Scottish Parliament - aims to address the distressing legacy of decades of drugs misuse."